Doctors successfully remove extra pair of limbs from 2-year-old

A team of doctors have successfully removed the extra pair of arms and legs from a 2-year-old girl during a marathon surgery that extended upto 27 hours in a private hospital in Bangalore.

The condition of Lakshmi, who was born in a village in Bihar with eight limbs, four arms and four legs, was described as “safe” and “stable” after a team of 27 doctors separated her from the extra limbs, salvaged her vital organs and rebuilt her pelvis area.

“The operation was successful”, a beaming chairman and chief orthapaedic surgeon Sharan Patil told a press conference at Sparsh Hospital in Bangalore yesterday.

“Beyond our expectations, the reconstruction worked wonderfully well”, he said attributed the success of the rare surgery to the entire team of the hospital that was involved in the complex operation.

Lakshmi was a conjoined twin – joined to what doctors described as a headless parasitic twin, which had stopped developing in mother’s womb. The surviving foetus had absorbed the limbs, kidneys and other parts of the undeveloped body. Hence, Lakshmi was born with not only two pairs of arms and legs, but also four kidneys, entangled nerves, two stomach cavities and two chest cavities.

After the surgery, Sharan Patil said “Every step was successful. There was no setback whatsoever”.

Before Lakshmi was brought to Bangalore for the surgery, the two-year-old with eight limbs was worshipped as an incarnation of a Goddess in the rural parts of Bihar. Her poor parents Poonam and Shambhu were convinced by the doctors to bring Lakshmi to Bangalore for all-expenses paid surgery.

Both Poonam and Shambhu are happy that the surgery on their child was successful, but are continuing to pray that she can lead a normal life after the operation.

The rare surgery attracted huge media attention in Bangalore and the people were praying for the success of the operation ever since a cheerful Lakshmi was wheeled into the operation theatre early on Tuesday morning.

Compliments began pouring in to the doctors after they declared 27 hours later that the surgery had been successful and Lakshmi can hopefully lead a normal life in future.